The Bastarnae , Bastarni or Basternae , also known as the Peuci or Peucini , were an ancient people who are known from Greek and Roman records to have inhabited areas north and east of the Carpathian mountains between about 300 BC and about 300 AD, stretching in an ark from the sources of the Vistula in present day Poland and Slovakia, to the Lower Danube, and including all or most of present day Moldava. The Peucini were sometimes described as a subtribe, who settled the Peuke Island in the Danube Delta , but apparently due to their importance their name was sometimes used for the Bastarnae as a whole. Near the sources of the Vistula another part of the Bastarnae were the Sidones, while the Atmoni, another tribe of the Bastarnae are only mentioned in one listing by Strabo .
139-465: The earliest Graeco-Roman historians to refer to the Bastarnae imply that they were culturally Celtic . Also consistent with connections to the cultures to their west, later Roman-era sources state directly that they spoke Germanic languages , and could be considered Germanic peoples . In contrast, like other peoples who lived in this geographical region, Graeco-Roman writers also sometimes referred to
278-432: A common language. Linguists such as Polomé and Katičić expressed reservations about both theories. The Dacians are generally considered to have been Thracian speakers, representing a cultural continuity from earlier Iron Age communities loosely termed Getic, Since in one interpretation, Dacian is a variety of Thracian, for the reasons of convenience, the generic term ‘Daco-Thracian" is used, with "Dacian" reserved for
417-643: A derivation from Old Persian , Avestan bast- "bound, tied; slave" (cf. Ossetic bættən "bind", bast "bound") and Iranian *arna- "offspring", equating it with the δουλόσποροι "slave Sporoi" mentioned by Nonnus and Cosmas , where the Sporoi are the people Procopius mentions as the ancestors of the Slavs . The earliest classical mentions of the Bastarnae locate them north of the Lower Danube, although they apparently made frequent crossings impacting upon
556-520: A distinct ethnic group at all (endonym) or whether it was a generic exonym used by the Greco-Romans to denote a disparate group of tribes of the Carpathian region that could not be classified as Dacians or Sarmatians. One possible derivation is from the proto-Germanic word *bastjan (from Proto-Indo-European root * bʰas- ), meaning "binding" or "tie". In this case, Bastarnae may have had
695-557: A diverse set of maternal lineages associated with steppe ancestry. The paternal lineages were on the other hand characterized by a "striking homogeneity", belonging entirely to haplogroup R and R1b , both of whom are associated with steppe ancestry. The evidence suggested that the Gauls of the La Tène culture were patrilineal and patrilocal , which is in agreement with archaeological and literary evidence. A genetic study published in
834-471: A great extent with the locations of Celtic tribes attested in the northern Carpathians. (The modern name of this region, Galicia , is generally regarded as having a later origin, in either a Slavic or Turkic language. However, some scholars have instead suggested that the name Galicia may derive from its former Celtic inhabitants the Taurisci , Osi , Cotini and Anartes of Slovakia and northern Romania and
973-581: A language like the Germanic peoples. The Greek geographer Strabo (64 BC – 24 AD) writing c. 5–20 AD, made several remarks about the location of the Bastarnae in his own time. In one passage he says that their country borders on that of the Tyregetans towards the Black Sea and Danube, and Germanic peoples to the west, and that they "one might say", were of "Germanic stock". The Roman geographer Pliny
1112-407: A large amount of steppe ancestry , and to have been closely related to peoples of the preceding Bell Beaker culture , suggesting genetic continuity between Bronze Age and Iron Age France. Significant gene flow with Great Britain and Iberia was detected. The results of the study partially supported the notion that French people are largely descended from the Gauls. A genetic study published in
1251-533: A massive hailstorm. Then the Thracians ambushed them, turning their descent into a panic-stricken rout. Back at their wagon fort in the plain, around half of the demoralised Bastarnae decided to return home, leaving c. 30,000 to press on to Macedonia. Philip's son and successor Perseus , while protesting his loyalty to Rome, deployed his Bastarnae guests in winter quarters in a valley in Dardania, presumably as
1390-524: A mixture of indigenous peoples and Indo-Europeans from the time of Proto-Indo-European expansion in the Early Bronze Age (3,300–3,000 BC) when the latter, around 1500 BC, conquered the indigenous peoples. The indigenous people were Danubian farmers, and the invading people of the 3rd millennium BC were Kurgan warrior-herders from the Ukrainian and Russian steppes. Indo-Europeanization
1529-583: A mountainous region called the "Peuca" mountains south of the Costoboci and Transmontani . The Sidones, named as one part of the Bastarnae by Strabo, are described by Ptolemy as one of the peoples east of the Vistula, although the location is not clear. It thus appears that the Bastarnae were settled in a vast arc stretching around the northern and eastern flanks of the Carpathians from western Ukraine to
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#17327727378331668-463: A powerful fortress called Genucla (Isaccea, near modern Tulcea, Romania, in the Danube Delta region), controlled by Zyraxes , the local Getan king. The man selected for the task was Marcus Licinius Crassus , grandson of Crassus the triumvir and an experienced general at 33 years of age, who was appointed proconsul of Macedonia in 29 BC. The Bastarnae provided the casus belli by crossing
1807-508: A prelude to a campaign against the Dardani the following summer. However, in the depths of winter their camp was attacked by the Dardani. The Bastarnae easily beat off the attackers, chased them back to their chief town and besieged them, but they were surprised in the rear by a second force of Dardani, which had approached their camp stealthily by mountain paths, and proceeded to storm and ransack it. Having lost their entire baggage and supplies,
1946-675: A separate name until ca. 300 AD, probably implying retention of their distinctive ethno-linguistic heritage up to that time. Polybius (200–118 BC) writing about the time of Perseus of Macedon (d. 166 BCE) explained how the Dardanians sought help from the Romans against the Bastarnae, who were allied with the Macedonian and Celtic (Galatian) enemies of Rome, which can be taken as implying that they were not Galatian. He described them as numerous, physically large, and valorous warriors. On
2085-628: A strong continuity with an afterlife . Elaborate burials also reveal a wide network of trade. In Vix , France, an elite woman of the 6th century BCE was buried with a very large bronze "wine-mixer" made in Greece. Exports from La Tène cultural areas to the Mediterranean cultures were based on salt , tin , copper , amber , wool , leather , furs and gold . Artefacts typical of the La Tène culture were also discovered in stray finds as far afield as Scandinavia, Northern Germany, Poland and in
2224-654: A tactic he had already used with disastrous results against the Dardani. Dio implies that he did so out of cowardice, in order to avoid the imminent clash with the opposition, but it is more likely that he was pursuing a large enemy cavalry force, probably Sarmatians . A Bastarnae host, which had crossed the Danube to assist the Histrians, promptly attacked, surrounded and massacred the Roman infantry, capturing several of their vexilla (military standards). This battle resulted in
2363-401: A technicality. Thousands of fleeing Bastarnae perished, many asphyxiated in nearby woods by encircling fires set by the Romans, others drowned trying to swim across the Danube. Nevertheless, a substantial force dug themselves into a powerful hillfort. Crassus laid siege to fort, but had to enlist the assistance of Rholes , a Getan petty king, to dislodge them, for which service Rholes was granted
2502-513: A threat to Roman hegemony in the lower Danube until the rise of Decebal 130 years later (86 AD). Once he had established himself as sole ruler of the Roman state in 30 BC, Caesar's grand-nephew and adopted son Augustus inaugurated a strategy of advancing the empire's south-eastern European border to the line of the Danube from the Alps , the Dinaric Alps and Macedonia. The primary objective
2641-531: Is Scytho-Sarmatian. Although the Goths certainly contributed to it, so probably did other peoples of the region such as the Dacians, proto-Slavs , Carpi and possibly the Bastarnae. The Bastarnae first appear in the historical record in 179 BC, when they crossed the Danube in a massive force. They did so at the invitation of their long-time ally, King Philip V of Macedon , a direct descendant of Antigonus , one of
2780-747: Is a great island called Peuce; and when the Bastarnians took possession of it they received the appellation of Peucini." In one passage Pliny the Elder located the Bastarnae "and other Germanic peoples" in the lands beyond the Iazyges and Dacians ( aversa Basternae tenent aliique inde Germani ). In another he describes "the Peucini, the Basternae", as neighbours of the Dacians . In the second century AD,
2919-501: Is debated. The art history of La Tène culture has various schemes of periodization. The archaeological period is now mostly divided into four sub-periods, following Paul Reinecke . The preceding final phase of the Hallstatt culture , HaD, c. 650–450 BC, was also widespread across Central Europe , and the transition over this area was gradual, being mainly detected through La Tène style elite artefacts, which first appear on
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#17327727378333058-530: Is difficult to assess; archaeologists have repeatedly concluded that language, material culture, and political affiliation do not necessarily run parallel. Frey (2004) notes that in the 5th century, "burial customs in the Celtic world were not uniform; rather, localised groups had their own beliefs, which, in consequence, also gave rise to distinct artistic expressions". La Tène metalwork in bronze, iron and gold, developing technologically out of Hallstatt culture ,
3197-453: Is difficult. In the 19th century, Tomaschek (1883) proposed the form "Dak", meaning those who understand and can speak , by considering "Dak" as a derivation of the root da ("k" being a suffix); cf. Sanskrit dasa , Bactrian daonha . Tomaschek also proposed the form "Davus", meaning "members of the clan/countryman" cf. Bactrian daqyu , danhu "canton". Since the 19th century, many scholars have proposed an etymological link between
3336-415: Is found under various forms within ancient sources. Greeks used the forms Δάκοι " Dakoi " ( Strabo , Dio Cassius , and Dioscorides ) and Δάοι "Daoi" (singular Daos). The form Δάοι "Daoi" was frequently used according to Stephan of Byzantium . Latins used the forms Davus , Dacus , and a derived form Dacisci (Vopiscus and inscriptions). There are similarities between the ethnonyms of
3475-412: Is impossible to attribute a "culture" to a particular ethnic group: it is likely that the material cultures discerned in the region belonged to several, if not all, of the groups inhabiting it. These cultures probably represent relatively large-scale socio-economic interactions between disparate communities of the broad region, possibly including mutually antagonistic groups. It is not even certain whether
3614-536: Is now France , Belgium , Switzerland , Austria , England , Southern Germany , the Czech Republic , Northern Italy and Central Italy , Slovenia , Hungary and Liechtenstein , as well as adjacent parts of the Netherlands , Slovakia , Serbia , Croatia , Transylvania (western Romania ), and Transcarpathia (western Ukraine ). The Celtiberians of western Iberia shared many aspects of
3753-439: Is somewhat different and the artefacts are initially found in some parts of the islands but not others. Migratory movements seem at best only partly responsible for the diffusion of La Tène culture there, and perhaps other parts of Europe. By about 400 BCE, the evidence for Mediterranean trade becomes sparse; this may be because the expanding Celtic populations began to migrate south and west, coming into violent conflict with
3892-595: Is somewhere in the vicinity of the river Duria, the present-day Váh (Waag). Dacians lived on both sides of the Danube. According to Strabo , Moesians also lived on both sides of the Danube. According to Agrippa , Dacia was limited by the Baltic Ocean in the North and by the Vistula in the West. The names of the people and settlements confirm Dacia's borders as described by Agrippa. Dacian people also lived south of
4031-547: Is stylistically characterized by inscribed and inlaid intricate spirals and interlace, on fine bronze vessels, helmets and shields, horse trappings , and elite jewelry, especially the neck rings called torcs and elaborate clasps called fibulae . It is characterized by elegant, stylized curvilinear animal and vegetal forms, allied with the Hallstatt traditions of geometric patterning. The Early Style of La Tène art and culture mainly featured static, geometric decoration, while
4170-435: Is supported by Romanian historian Ioan I. Russu (1967). Mircea Eliade attempted, in his book From Zalmoxis to Genghis Khan , to give a mythological foundation to an alleged special relation between Dacians and the wolves: Evidence of proto-Thracians or proto-Dacians in the prehistoric period depends on the remains of material culture . It is generally proposed that a proto-Dacian or proto-Thracian people developed from
4309-506: Is that of Moesian (or Mysian) for the language of an intermediate area immediately to the south of Danube in Serbia, Bulgaria and Romanian Dobruja: this and the dialects north of the Danube have been grouped together as Daco-Moesian. The language of the indigenous population has left hardly any trace in the anthroponymy of Moesia, but the toponymy indicates that the Moesii on the south bank of
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4448-621: The Journal of Archaeological Science in October 2019 examined 43 maternal and 17 paternal lineages for the La Tène necropolis in Urville-Nacqueville, France, and 27 maternal and 19 paternal lineages for La Tène tumulus of Gurgy Les Noisats near modern Paris , France. The examined individuals displayed strong genetic resemblance to peoples of the earlier Yamnaya culture , Corded Ware culture and Bell Beaker culture. They carried
4587-770: The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in June 2020 examined the remains of 25 individuals ascribed to the La Tène culture. The nine examples of individual Y-DNA extracted were determined to belong to either the paragroups or subclades of haplogroups R1b1a1a2 (R-M269; three examples), R1b1a1a2a1a2c1a1a1a1a1 (R-M222), R1b1 (R-L278), R1b1a1a (R-P297), I1 (I-M253), E1b1b (E-M215), or other, unspecified, subclades of haplogroup R . The 25 samples of mtDNA extracted
4726-679: The Baltic coast of today's north-west Poland, on the grounds of correspondences in archaeological material, e.g. a Pomeranian-style fibula found in a Poieneşti site in Moldavia , although Batty considers the evidence insufficient. Babeş identifies the Sidoni, a branch of the Bastarnae which Strabo mentioned with the Sidini located by Ptolemy in Pomerania. Batty argues that Greco-Roman sources of
4865-524: The Britogalli of the Danube Delta region.) In addition, archaeological cultures which some scholars have linked to the Bastarnae (Poieneşti-Lukashevka and Zarubintsy) display pronounced Celtic affinities. Finally, the arrival of the Bastarnae in the Pontic-Danubian region, which can be dated to 233–216 BC according to two ancient sources, coincides with the latter phase of Celtic migration into
5004-600: The Diadochi , the generals of Alexander the Great who had shared his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Macedonian king had suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of the Romans in the Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC), which had reduced him from a powerful Hellenistic monarch to the status of a petty client-king with a much-reduced territory and a tiny army. After nearly 20 years of slavish adherence to
5143-612: The Goths , who were undoubtedly Germanic-speakers, as "Scythians". On the other hand it is likely that Bastarnae were influenced the surrounding Sarmatians, as reflected in Tacitus' comment that "mixed marriages" debasing them to appear more like the Sarmatians. According to Malcolm Todd , traditional archaeology has not been able to construct a typology of Bastarnae material culture, and thus to ascribe particular archaeological sites to
5282-468: The Pannonians and therefore first became known to the Romans. According to Strabo's Geographica , the original name of the Dacians was Δάοι " Daoi ". The name Daoi (one of the ancient Geto-Dacian tribes) was certainly adopted by foreign observers to designate all the inhabitants of the countries north of Danube that had not yet been conquered by Greece or Rome. The ethnographic name Daci
5421-502: The Poieneşti-Lukashevka culture ( Lucăşeuca ) in northern Moldavia. These cultures were characterised by agriculture, documented by numerous finds of sickles. Dwellings were either of surface or semi-subterranean types, with posts supporting the walls, a hearth in the middle and large conical pits located nearby. Some sites were defended by ditches and banks, structures thought to have been built to defend against nomadic tribes from
5560-572: The Roxolani , generally considered by scholars to have been a Sarmatian tribe, in a list of Bastarnae subgroups. However, this may simply be an error due to the close proximity of the two peoples north of the Danube Delta. In the third century, the Greek historian Dio Cassius (155–235 AD) stated that the "Bastarnae are properly classed as Scythians" and "members of the Scythian race". Likewise,
5699-632: The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC). The presence of Roman forces in the Danube Delta was seen as a major threat by all the neighbouring transdanubian peoples: the Peucini Bastarnae, the Sarmatians and, most importantly, by Burebista (ruled 82–44 BC), king of the Getae . The Getae occupied the region today called Wallachia as well as Scythia Minor and were either a Dacian - or Thracian - speaking people. Burebista had unified
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5838-600: The Venetic culture". From their homeland, La Tène culture expanded in the 4th century BCE to more of modern France, Germany, and Central Europe , and beyond to Hispania , northern and central Italy , the Balkans , and even as far as Asia Minor , in the course of several major migrations. La Tène style artefacts start to appear in Britain around the same time, and Ireland rather later. The style of "Insular La Tène" art
5977-571: The Vix Grave in Burgundy contain imported luxury goods along with artifacts produced locally. Most areas were probably controlled by tribal chiefs living in hilltop forts , while the bulk of the population lived in small villages or farmsteads in the countryside. By 500 BCE the Etruscans expanded to border Celts in north Italy, and trade across the Alps began to overhaul trade with
6116-696: The endonym of the Dacians and wolves. However, according to Romanian historian and archaeologist Alexandru Vulpe , the Dacian etymology explained by daos ("wolf") has little plausibility, as the transformation of daos into dakos is phonetically improbable and the Draco standard was not unique to Dacians. He thus dismisses it as folk etymology . Another etymology, linked to the Proto-Indo-European language roots *dhe- meaning "to set, place" and dheua → dava ("settlement") and dhe-k → daci
6255-408: The 3rd century, with a peak of activity around 200 BCE and abandonment by about 60 BCE. Interpretations of the site vary. Some scholars believe the bridge was destroyed by high water, while others see it as a place of sacrifice after a successful battle (there are almost no female ornaments). An exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the La Tène site opened in 2007 at
6394-513: The 5th century onwards as Keltoi ("Celts") and Galli ("Gauls"). Herodotus (iv.49) correctly placed Keltoi at the source of the Ister/Danube , in the heartland of La Tène material culture: "The Ister flows right across Europe, rising in the country of the Celts". Whether the usage of classical sources means that the whole of La Tène culture can be attributed to a unified Celtic people
6533-702: The 8th to 7th centuries BC, the migration of the Scythians from the east into the Pontic Steppe pushed westwards and away from the steppes the related Scythic Agathyrsi people who had previously dwelt on the Pontic Steppe around the Lake Maeotis . Following this, the Agathyrsi settled in the territories of present-day Moldova , Transylvania and possibly Oltenia , where they mingled with
6672-534: The Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire. Many Bastarnae were resettled within the Roman Empire in the late third century. The origin of the tribal name is uncertain. It is not even clear whether it was an exonym (a name ascribed to them by outsiders) or an endonym (a name by which the Bastarnae described themselves). A related question is whether the groups denoted "Bastarnae" by the Romans considered themselves
6811-544: The Balkans. It is therefore common to also talk of the "La Tène period" in the context of those regions even though they were never part of the La Tène culture proper, but connected to its core area via trade. The La Tène type site is on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel , Switzerland , where the small river Thielle , connecting to another lake, enters the Lake Neuchâtel. In 1857, prolonged drought lowered
6950-460: The Bastarnae against the Dardani . After the latter had been crushed, Philip planned to settle Bastarnae families in Dardania (southern Kosovo / Skopje region) to ensure that the region was permanently subdued. In a second phase, Philip aimed to launch the Bastarnae on an invasion of Italy via the Adriatic coast. Although he was aware that the Bastarnae were likely to be defeated, Philip hoped that
7089-422: The Bastarnae as a "Scythian" or "Sarmatian" people, but this was a reference to their location, and customs, rather than a linguistic category. Although largely sedentary, at least one Roman writer, Tacitus , stated that the Bastarnae had adopted some Sarmatian customs. So far, no archaeological sites have been conclusively attributed to the Bastarnae. The archaeological horizon most often associated by scholars with
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#17327727378337228-588: The Bastarnae is that both cultures had disappeared by the early first century AD, while the Bastarnae continue to be attested in those regions throughout the Roman Principate . Another issue is that the Poieneşti-Lukashevka culture has also been attributed to the Costoboci , a people considered ethnically Dacian by mainstream scholarship, who inhabited northern Moldavia, according to Ptolemy (ca. 140 AD). Indeed, Mircea Babeş and Silvia Theodor ,
7367-400: The Bastarnae is the Poieneşti-Lucașeuca culture . From the first records which mention them, the Bastarnae were active in the region of the Danube estuary on the Black Sea coast. The Bastarnae first came into conflict with the Romans during the first century BC when, in alliance with Dacians and Sarmatians, they unsuccessfully resisted Roman expansion into Moesia and Pannonia , south of
7506-437: The Bastarnae to be next beyond the Germanic Peoples, but he indicates that it is also possible that "others lie in between, either the Iazyges, or the Roxolani, or certain other of the wagon-dwellers — it is not easy to say". In yet another similar passage he describes the Bastarnae as the most inland (northerly) of the peoples living between the Borysthenes (Dnieper) and the Ister (Lower Danube), and indicates that their neighbours
7645-440: The Bastarnae were obliged to withdraw from Dardania and to return home. Most perished as they crossed the frozen Danube on foot, only for the ice to give way. Despite the failure of Philip's Bastarnae strategy, the suspicion aroused by these events in the Roman Senate, which had been warned by the Dardani of the Bastarnae invasion, ensured the demise of Macedonia as an independent state. Rome declared war on Perseus in 171 BC and after
7784-528: The Bastarnae were sedentary, nomadic or semi-nomadic. Tacitus' statement that they were "German in their way of life and types of dwelling" implies a sedentary bias, but their close relations with the Sarmatians, who were nomadic, may indicate a more nomadic lifestyle for some Bastarnae, as does their attested wide geographical range. If the Bastarnae were nomadic, then the sedentary "cultures" identified by archaeologists in their lebensraum would not represent them. Nomadic peoples generally leave scant traces, due to
7923-421: The Bastarnae. A complicating factor is that the regions where Bastarnae are attested contained a patchwork of peoples and cultures (Sarmatians, Scythians, Dacians, Thracians, Celts, Germans and others), some sedentary , some nomadic . In any event, post-1960s archaeological theory has questioned the validity of equating material "cultures", as defined by archaeologists, with distinct ethnic groups. In this view, it
8062-435: The Basternae". Batty argues that assigning an "ethnicity" to the Bastarnae is meaningless; as in the context of the Iron Age Pontic-Danubian region, with its multiple overlapping peoples and languages, ethnicity was a very fluid concept, which changed rapidly and frequently, according to socio-political vicissitudes. That was especially true of the Bastarnae, who are attested over a relatively-vast area. The Bastarnae maintained
8201-403: The Boii south across the Danube and out of their territory, at which point the Boii abandoned any further plans for invasion. Some Hungarian historians consider the Dacians and Getae the same as the Scythian tribes of the Dahae , Massagetae , also the exonym Daxia one with Dacia. North of the Danube, Dacians occupied a larger territory than Ptolemaic Dacia, stretching between Bohemia in
8340-413: The Boii, the Scordisci, and the Taurisci". He confirmed that historically "the Scythians and Bastarnians and Sauromatians on the far side of the river [the Lower Danube] often prevail to the extent that they actually cross over to attack those whom they have already driven out, and some of them remain there, either in the islands or in Thrace". In particular, Near the outlets of the Ister River [Lower Danube]
8479-463: The Celts from reaching very far south of Rome, but on the other side of the Adriatic Sea groups passed through the Balkans to reach Greece , where Delphi was attacked and sacked in 279 BCE, and Asia, where Galatia was established as a Celtic area of Anatolia . By this time, the La Tène style was spreading to the British Isles , though apparently without any significant movements in population. After about 275 BCE, Roman expansion into
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#17327727378338618-409: The Cotini, Osi,...[missing tribal name] and Anartii to the power of the emperor Augustus and of the people of Rome." The three names of Bastarnae leaders found in ancient sources are of Celtic origin: Cotto, Clondicus and Teutagonus. Three Greco-Roman geographers of the first century AD associated the Bastarnae and Peucini with the Germanic peoples , and one source, Tacitus, specifies that they spoke
8757-413: The Dacians and those of Dahae (Greek Δάσαι Δάοι, Δάαι, Δαι, Δάσαι Dáoi , Dáai , Dai , Dasai ; Latin Dahae , Daci ), an Indo-European people located east of the Caspian Sea , until the 1st millennium BC. Scholars have suggested that there were links between the two peoples since ancient times. The historian David Gordon White has, moreover, stated that the "Dacians ... appear to be related to
8896-431: The Dahae". (Likewise White and other scholars also believe that the names Dacii and Dahae may also have a shared etymology – see the section following for further details.) By the end of the first century AD, all the inhabitants of the lands which now form Romania were known to the Romans as Daci, with the exception of some Celtic and Germanic tribes who infiltrated from the west, and Sarmatian and related people from
9035-535: The Danube Delta. The Peutinger Map (produced ca. 400 AD, but including material from as early as the first century) shows the Bastarnae (mis-spelt Blastarni ) north of the Carpathian mountains and appears to name the Galician Carpathians as the Alpes Bastarnicae . Because of their apparent cultural and linguistic connections to the west, the Bastarnae are generally believed to have moved originally from that direction, but this remains uncertain. Babeş and Shchukin argue in favour of an origin in eastern Pomerania on
9174-410: The Danube, north of the Haemus Mountains, and the Triballi in the valley of the Morava, shared a number of characteristic linguistic features with the Dacii south of the Carpathians and the Getae in the Wallachian plain, which sets them apart from the Thracians though their languages are undoubtedly related. Dacian culture is mostly followed through Roman sources. Ample evidence suggests that they were
9313-483: The Danube. Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The Dacians and Getae were always considered as Thracians by
9452-422: The Danube. Later, they appear to have maintained friendly relations with the Roman Empire during the first two centuries AD. This changed around 180 AD, when the Bastarnae are recorded as participants in an invasion of Roman territory, once again in alliance with Sarmatians and Dacians. In the mid-3rd century AD, the Bastarnae were part of a Gothic -led grand coalition of lower Danube tribes that repeatedly invaded
9591-436: The Danube. The Bastarnae were also a target because they had recently subjugated the Triballi, whose territory lay on the southern bank of the Danube between the tributary rivers Utus (Vit) and Ciabrus (Tsibritsa), with their chief town at Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria). In addition, Augustus wanted to avenge the defeat of Gaius Antonius at Histria 32 years before and to recover the lost military standards. These were held in
9730-557: The Dardani and the Moesi , becoming the first Roman general to reach the Danube with his army. His successor, Marcus Licinius Lucullus (brother of the famous Lucius Lucullus ), campaigned against the Thracian Bessi tribe and the Moesi, ravaging the whole of Moesia , the region between the Haemus ( Balkan ) mountain range and the Danube. In 72 BC, his troops occupied the Greek coastal cities of Scythia Minor (modern Dobruja region, Romania/Bulgaria), which had sided with Rome's Hellenistic arch-enemy, King Mithridates VI of Pontus , in
9869-491: The Elder (c. 77 AD), classified the Bastarnae or Peucini as being one of the five main subdivisions of Germanic peoples, the other subdivisions as the three West Germanic groups, the Inguaeones , Istuaeones and Hermiones , and the East Germanic Vandili . Notably, the Roman historian Tacitus (56–120 AD), writing about 100 AD, described the Bastarnae as probably being a Germanic people, but with substantial Sarmatian cultural influence and intermarriage: Strabo includes
10008-475: The Germanic word bastard , meaning illegitimate or mongrel, and this name is sometimes contrasted to proposed Germanic etymologies for the name of the Sciri who lived in the same general region. However, Roger Batty considers this Germanic derivation unlikely. If the name is an endonym, then this derivation is unlikely, as most endonyms have flattering meanings (e.g. "brave", "strong", "noble"). Trubačev proposes
10147-618: The Getae tribes into a single kingdom, for which the Greek cities were vital trade outlets. In addition, he had established his hegemony over neighbouring Sarmatian and Bastarnae tribes. At its peak, the Getae kingdom reportedly was able to muster 200,000 warriors. Burebista led his transdanubian coalition in a struggle against Roman encroachment, conducting many raids against Roman allies in Moesia and Thrace, penetrating as far as Macedonia and Illyria . The coalition's main chance came in 62 BC, when
10286-450: The Greek cities rebelled against Roman rule. In 61 BC, the notoriously oppressive and militarily incompetent proconsul of Macedonia, Gaius Antonius , nicknamed Hybrida ("The Monster"), an uncle of the famous Mark Antony , led an army against the Greek cities. As his army approached Histria , Antonius detached his entire mounted force from the marching column and led it away on a lengthy excursion, leaving his infantry without cavalry cover,
10425-469: The Greek historian Plutarch (about 46-120 AD), also talking the time of Perseus of Macedon, went further, writing that the Roman consul Hostilius "secretly stirred up the Gauls settled along the Danube, who are called Basternae". Another reason to consider the Bastarnae as Celtic is that the regions they are documented to have occupied (the northern and eastern slopes of the Carpathians) overlapped to
10564-518: The Greek or Latin alphabets exist allowing the fragmentary reconstruction of Continental Celtic . Current knowledge of this cultural area is derived from three sources comprising archaeological evidence, Greek and Latin literary records, and ethnographical evidence suggesting some La Tène artistic and cultural survivals in traditionally Celtic regions of far western Europe. Some of the societies that are archaeologically identified with La Tène material culture were identified by Greek and Roman authors from
10703-596: The Greeks, and the Rhone route declined. Booming areas included the middle Rhine , with large iron ore deposits, the Marne and Champagne regions, and also Bohemia , although here trade with the Mediterranean area was much less important. Trading connections and wealth no doubt played a part in the origin of the La Tène style, though how large a part remains much discussed; specific Mediterranean-derived motifs are evident, but
10842-714: The Haemus and attacking the Dentheletae , a Thracian tribe who were Roman allies. Crassus marched to the Dentheletae's assistance, but the Bastarnae host hastily withdrew over the Haemus at his approach. Crassus followed them closely into Moesia but they would not be drawn into battle, withdrawing beyond the Tsibritsa. Crassus now turned his attention to the Moesi, his prime target. After a successful campaign which resulted in
10981-563: The La Tène area began with the conquest of Gallia Cisalpina . The conquest of Gallia Celtica followed in 121 BCE and was complete with the Gallic Wars of the 50s BCE. Gaulish culture quickly assimilated to Roman culture, giving rise to the hybrid Gallo-Roman culture of Late Antiquity . The bearers of the La Tène culture were the people known as Celts or Gauls to ancient ethnographers. Ancient Celtic culture had no written literature of its own, but rare examples of epigraphy in
11120-490: The La Tène sphere. The site at La Tène itself was therefore near the southern edge of the original "core" area (as is also the case for the Hallstatt site for its core). The establishment of a Greek colony, soon very successful, at Massalia (modern Marseilles) on the Mediterranean coast of France led to great trade with the Hallstatt areas up the Rhone and Saone river systems, and early La Tène elite burials like
11259-537: The La Tène style of Celtic art , characterized by curving "swirly" decoration, especially of metalwork. It is named after the type site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland , where thousands of objects had been deposited in the lake, as was discovered after the water level dropped in 1857 (due to the Jura water correction ). La Tène is the type site and the term archaeologists use for
11398-623: The Macedonian army was crushed at the Battle of Pydna (168 BC), Macedonia was split up into four Roman puppet-cantons (167 BC). Twenty-one years later, these were in turn abolished and annexed to the Roman Republic as the province of Macedonia (146 BC). The Bastarnae first came into direct conflict with Rome as a result of expansion into the lower Danube region by the proconsuls (governors) of Macedonia in 75–72 BC. Gaius Scribonius Curio (proconsul 75–73 BC) campaigned successfully against
11537-796: The Musée Schwab in Biel/Bienne , Switzerland, then Zürich in 2008 and Mont Beuvray in Burgundy in 2009. Some sites are: Some outstanding La Tène artifacts are: A genetic study published in PLOS One in December 2018 examined 45 individuals buried at a La Tène necropolis in Urville-Nacqueville , France. The people buried there were identified as Gauls . The mtDNA of the examined individuals belonged primarily to haplotypes of H and U . They were found to be carrying
11676-566: The Roman Senate's dictats, Philip had been goaded by the incessant and devastating raiding of the Dardani , a warlike Illyrian tribe on his northern border, which his treaty-limited army was too small to counter effectively. Counting on the Bastarnae, with whom he had forged friendly relations, he plotted a strategy to deal with the Dardani and then to regain his lost territories in Greece and his political independence. First, he would unleash
11815-400: The Romans would be distracted long enough to allow him to reoccupy his former possessions in Greece. However, Philip, now 60 years of age, died before the Bastarnae could arrive. The Bastarnae host was still en route through Thrace, where it became embroiled in hostilities with the locals, who had not provided them with sufficient food at affordable prices as they marched through. Probably in
11954-569: The Tyregetans are closer to the Black Sea. Strabo also mentioned their interactions with other peoples near the Danube, specifying that in his time, "wagon-dwelling" Scythians and Sarmatians, "as well as the Bastarnian tribes, are mingled with the Thracians (more indeed with those outside the Ister [North of the Danube], but also with those inside). And mingled with them are also the Celtic tribes —
12093-612: The ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia , located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea . They are often considered a subgroup of the Thracians . This area includes mainly the present-day countries of Romania and Moldova , as well as parts of Ukraine , Eastern Serbia , Northern Bulgaria , Slovakia , Hungary and Southern Poland . The Dacians and
12232-477: The ancients (Dio Cassius, Trogus Pompeius, Appian , Strabo and Pliny the Elder), and were both said to speak the same Thracian language . The linguistic affiliation of Dacian is uncertain, since the ancient Indo-European language in question became extinct and left very limited traces, usually in the form of place names, plant names and personal names. Thraco-Dacian (or Thracian and Daco-Mysian) seems to belong to
12371-444: The collapse of the Roman position on the lower Danube. Burebista apparently annexed the Greek cities (55–48 BC). At the same time, the subjugated "allied" tribes of Moesia and Thrace evidently repudiated their treaties with Rome, as they had to be reconquered by Augustus in 29–8 BC (see below). In 44 BC, Roman dictator-for-life Julius Caesar planned to lead a major campaign to crush Burebista and his allies once and for all, but he
12510-570: The culture, though not generally the artistic style. To the north extended the contemporary Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe , including the Jastorf culture of Northern Germany and Denmark and all the way to Galatia in Asia Minor (today Turkey ). Centered on ancient Gaul , the culture became very widespread, and encompasses a wide variety of local differences. It is often distinguished from earlier and neighbouring cultures mainly by
12649-462: The east. The name Daci , or "Dacians" is a collective ethnonym . Dio Cassius reported that the Dacians themselves used that name, and the Romans so called them, while the Greeks called them Getae. Opinions on the origins of the name Daci are divided. Some scholars consider it to originate in the Indo-European * dha-k -, with the stem * dhe - 'to put, to place', while others think that
12788-531: The eastern (satem) group of Indo-European languages. There are two contradictory theories: some scholars (such as Tomaschek 1883; Russu 1967; Solta 1980; Crossland 1982; Vraciu 1980) consider Dacian to be a Thracian language or a dialect thereof. This view is supported by R. G. Solta, who says that Thracian and Dacian are very closely related languages. Other scholars (such as Georgiev 1965, Duridanov 1976) consider that Thracian and Dacian are two different and specific Indo-European languages which cannot be reduced to
12927-502: The established populations, including the Etruscans and Romans. The settled life in much of the La Tène homelands also seems to have become much more unstable and prone to wars. In about 387 BCE, the Celts under Brennus defeated the Romans and then sacked Rome , establishing themselves as the most prominent threats to the Roman homeland, a status they would retain through a series of Roman-Gallic wars until Julius Caesar 's final conquest of Gaul in 58–50 BCE. The Romans prevented
13066-607: The first [Roman general] to advance across the river Danube, defeated in battle and routed an army of Dacians and Basternae, and subjugated the Cotini , Osi,...[missing tribal name] and Anartii to the power of the emperor Augustus and of the people of Rome. Most likely, the Bastarnae, in alliance with Dacians, were attempting to assist the hard-pressed Illyrian/Celtic tribes of Pannonia in their resistance to Rome. La T%C3%A8ne culture The La Tène culture ( / l ə ˈ t ɛ n / ; French pronunciation: [la tɛn] )
13205-505: The first century AD locate the Bastarnae homeland on the northern side of the Northern Carpathian mountain range, encompassing south-east Poland and south-west Ukraine (i.e. the region traditionally known as Galicia ). Scholars hold divergent theories about the ethnicity of the Bastarnae. One view, implied by some of the earliest reports, is that they spoke a Celtic language . The only explicit description of their language,
13344-483: The full-scale pitched battle with the Romans that they had tried to avoid. The Bastarnae tried to retreat into the forest but were hampered by the wagon train carrying their women and children, as these could not move through the trees. Trapped into fighting to save their families, the Bastarnae were routed. Crassus personally killed their king, Deldo, in combat, a feat which qualified him for Rome's highest military honour, spolia opima , but Augustus refused to award it on
13483-529: The impermanent materials and foundations used in the construction of their dwellings. Scholars have identified two closely related sedentary "cultures" as possible candidates to represent the Bastarnae (among other peoples) as their locations broadly correspond to where ancient sources placed the Basternae: the Zarubintsy culture lying in the forest-steppe zone in northern Ukraine and southern Belarus, and
13622-582: The indigenous population of Thracian origins. When the Agathyrsi were later completely assimilated by the Geto-Thracian populations;, their fortified settlements became the centres of the Getic groups who would later transform into the Dacian culture; an important part of the Dacian people descended from the Agathyrsi. When the La Tène Celts arrived in the 4th century BC, the Dacians were under
13761-516: The influence of the Scythians. Alexander the Great attacked the Getae in 335 BC on the lower Danube, but by 300 BC they had formed a state founded on a military democracy, and began a period of conquest. More Celts arrived during the 3rd century BC, and in the 1st century BC the people of Boii tried to conquer some of the Dacian territory on the eastern side of the Teiss river. The Dacians drove
13900-541: The language or dialect that was spoken north of Danube, in present-day Romania and eastern Hungary, and "Thracian" for the variety spoken south of the Danube. There is no doubt that the Thracian language was related to the Dacian language which was spoken in what is today Romania, before some of that area was occupied by the Romans. Also, both Thracian and Dacian have one of the main satem characteristic changes of Indo-European language, *k and *g to *s and *z. With regard to
14039-635: The late Roman map Tabula Peutingeriana . It was Herodotus who first used the ethnonym Getae in his Histories . In Greek and Latin, in the writings of Julius Caesar , Strabo , and Pliny the Elder , the people became known as 'the Dacians'. Getae and Dacians were interchangeable terms, or used with some confusion by the Greeks. Latin poets often used the name Getae . Vergil called them Getae four times, and Daci once, Lucian Getae three times and Daci twice, Horace named them Getae twice and Daci five times, while Juvenal one time Getae and two times Daci . In AD 113, Hadrian used
14178-574: The later "Dacia." In the 1st century AD, Strabo suggested that its stem formed a name previously borne by slaves: Greek Daos, Latin Davus (-k- is a known suffix in Indo-European ethnic names). In the 18th century, Grimm proposed the Gothic dags or "day" that would give the meaning of "light, brilliant". Yet dags belongs to the Sanskrit word-root dah- , and a derivation from Dah to Δάσαι "Daci"
14317-685: The later period of the culture and art of the ancient Celts , a term that is firmly entrenched in the popular understanding, but it is considered controversial by modern scholarship. Extensive contacts through trade are recognized in foreign objects deposited in elite burials; stylistic influences on La Tène material culture can be recognized in Etruscan , Italic , Greek , Dacian and Scythian sources. Datable Greek pottery and analysis employing scientific techniques such as dendrochronology and thermoluminescence help provide date ranges for an absolute chronology at some La Tène sites. La Tène history
14456-414: The modern-day western Ukraine and Moldova region inhabited by the Bastarnae. The culture is characterised by a high degree of sophistication in the production of metal and ceramic artefacts, as well as of uniformity over a vast area. Although this culture has conventionally been identified with the migration of the Gothic ethnos into the region from the northwest, Todd argues that its most important origin
14595-452: The most dominant paternal lineage, while H was the most common maternal lineage. The Iron Age samples resembled those of modern-day populations of France, Great Britain and Spain. The evidence suggested that the Gauls of the La Tène culture largely evolved from local Bronze Age populations. Dacians The Dacians ( / ˈ d eɪ ʃ ən z / ; Latin : Daci [ˈdaːkiː] ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι ) were
14734-545: The name Daci originates in * daca 'knife, dagger' or in a word similar to dáos, meaning 'wolf' in the related language of the Phrygians . One hypothesis is that the name Getae originates in Indo-European * guet- 'to utter, to talk'. Another hypothesis is that Getae and Daci are the Iranian names of two Iranian-speaking Scythian groups that had been assimilated into the larger Thracian-speaking population of
14873-583: The new style does not depend on them. Barry Cunliffe notes localization of La Tène culture during the 5th century BCE when there arose "two zones of power and innovation: a Marne – Moselle zone in the west with trading links to the Po Valley via the central Alpine passes and the Golasecca culture , and a Bohemian zone in the east with separate links to the Adriatic via the eastern Alpine routes and
15012-406: The original meaning of a coalition or bund of tribes. It is possible that the Roman term basterna , denoting a type of wagon or litter, is derived from the name of this people (or, if it is an exonym, that the name of the people is derived from it) who were known, like many Germanic tribes, to travel with a wagon train for their families. It has also been suggested that the name is linked with
15151-572: The other hand a much later report of these events by Livy (64 BC – 17 AD), writing about 10 AD, is sometimes understood to imply that the Bastarnae spoke a Celtic language (or a related language) because when comparing them to the Scordisci , a major Galatian tribe of Pannonia , it specifies that the Bastarnae were "neither in speech nor habits were they dissimilar". The Scordisci are described as Celtic by Strabo , although he adds that they had mingled with Illyrians and Thracians). Much later still,
15290-625: The peoples living south of the Danube. Strabo (about 20 AD) made several remarks about the location of the Bastarnae. In one place he described the lands beyond the Rhine and Danube as the home of the Galatian (Celtic) and the Germanic peoples, and beyond these (to the east) were the Bastarnae and their neighbours the Tyregetans "and the River Borysthenes" (Dnieper). However, in another similar passage he says only that "most writers suspect"
15429-435: The poetic term Getae for the Dacians. Modern historians prefer to use the name Geto-Dacians . Strabo describes the Getae and Dacians as distinct but cognate tribes. This distinction refers to the regions they occupied. Strabo and Pliny the Elder also state that Getae and Dacians spoke the same language. By contrast, the name of Dacians , whatever the origin of the name, was used by the more western tribes who adjoined
15568-559: The region (400–200 BC). In addition, inscription AE (1905) 14, recording a campaign on the Hungarian Plain by the Augustan-era general Marcus Vinucius (10 BC or 8 BC), also appears to distinguish the Bastarnae from neighbouring Celtic tribes: "Marcus Vinucius... governor of Illyricum, the first [Roman general] to advance across the river Danube, defeated in battle and routed an army of Dacians and Basternae, and subjugated
15707-700: The related Getae spoke the Dacian language , which has a debated relationship with the neighbouring Thracian language and may be a subgroup of it. Dacians were somewhat culturally influenced by the neighbouring Scythians and by the Celtic invaders of the 4th century BC . The Dacians were known as Geta (plural Getae ) in Ancient Greek writings, and as Dacus (plural Daci ) or Getae in Roman documents, but also as Dagae and Gaete as depicted on
15846-402: The results of which were published by Vouga in the same year. All in all, over 2500 objects, mainly made from metal, have been excavated in La Tène. Weapons predominate, there being 166 swords (most without traces of wear), 270 lanceheads, and 22 shield bosses , along with 385 brooches , tools, and parts of chariots . Numerous human and animal bones were found as well. The site was used from
15985-463: The site as an armory, erected on platforms on piles over the lake and later destroyed by enemy action. Another interpretation accounting for the presence of cast iron swords that had not been sharpened, was of a site for ritual depositions. With the first systematic lowering of the Swiss lakes from 1868 to 1883, the site fell completely dry. In 1880, Emile Vouga, a teacher from Marin-Epagnier, uncovered
16124-440: The sixth-century historian Zosismus (490s–510 AD), reporting events around 280 AD, refers to "the Bastarnae, a Scythian people". However, late Greco-Roman chroniclers used the term "Scythian" without regard to language. The earliest Scythians were steppe nomads associated with Iranic languages, as were their successors the Sarmatians, who were also called Scythians, while classical authors such as Zosimus also routinely refers to
16263-411: The steppe. Inhabitants practiced cremation. Cremated remains were either placed in large, hand-made ceramic urns, or were placed in a large pit and surrounded by food and ornaments such as spiral bracelets and Middle to Late La Tène -type fibulae (attesting the continuing strength of Celtic influence in this region). A major problem with associating the Poieneşti-Lukashevka and Zarubintsy cultures with
16402-436: The submission of a substantial section of the Moesi, Crassus again sought out the Bastarnae. Discovering their location from some peace envoys they had sent to him, he lured them into battle near the Tsibritsa by a stratagem. Hiding his main body of troops in a wood, he stationed as bait a smaller vanguard in open ground before the wood. As expected, the Bastarnae attacked the vanguard in force, only to find themselves entangled in
16541-488: The term "Getic" (Getae), even though attempts have been made to distinguish between Dacian and Getic, there seems no compelling reason to disregard the view of the Greek geographer Strabo that the Daci and the Getae, Thracian tribes dwelling north of the Danube (the Daci in the west of the area and the Getae further east), were one and the same people and spoke the same language. Another variety that has sometimes been recognized
16680-784: The texts attached to Ptolemy's Geography say that "above Dacia are the Peucini and the Basternae"; "between the Peucini and the Basternae are the Carpiani "; "between the Basternae and the Rhoxolani" who he places on the Black Sea coast, "are the Chuni" (otherwise unknown); and "below the Basternae near Dacia are the Tigri and below these are the Tyrangitae" whose names are linked to the Tyras or Dniester river. Possibly relevant, he also mentioned
16819-402: The title of socius et amicus populi Romani ("ally and friend of the Roman people"). The following year (28 BC), Crassus marched on Genucla. Zyraxes escaped with his treasure and fled over the Danube into Scythia to seek aid from the Bastarnae. Before he was able to bring reinforcements, Genucla fell to a combined land and fluvial assault by the Romans. The strategic result of Crassus' campaigns
16958-897: The transition to the Developed Style constituted a shift to movement-based forms, such as triskeles . Some subsets within the Developed Style contain more specific design trends, such as the recurrent serpentine scroll of the Waldalgesheim Style. Initially La Tène people lived in open settlements that were dominated by the chieftains' hill forts. The development of towns— oppida —appears in mid-La Tène culture. La Tène dwellings were carpenter-built rather than of masonry . La Tène peoples also dug ritual shafts, in which votive offerings and even human sacrifices were cast. Severed heads appear to have held great power and were often represented in carvings. Burial sites included weapons, carts, and both elite and household goods, evoking
17097-563: The two Romanian archaeologists who identified Lukashevka as Bastarnic, nevertheless insisted that the majority of the population in the Lukashevka sphere (in northern Moldavia) was "Geto-Dacian". A further problem is that neither of these cultures were present in the Danube Delta region, where a major concentration of Bastarnae are attested by the ancient sources. Starting in about 200 AD, the Chernyakhov culture became established in
17236-403: The two periods, particularly in southern France. The samples from northern and southern France were highly homogeneous, with northern samples displaying links to contemporary samples form Great Britain and Sweden, and southern samples displaying links to Celtiberians . The northern French samples were distinguished from the southern ones by elevated levels of steppe-related ancestry. R1b was by far
17375-452: The vicinity of Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv, Bulgaria), the Bastarnae broke out of their marching columns and pillaged the land far and wide. The terrified local Thracians took refuge with their families and animal herds on the slopes of Mons Donuca ( Mount Musala ), the highest mountain in Thrace. A large force of Bastarnae chased them up the mountain, but were driven back and scattered by
17514-413: The water. From among these, Kopp collected about forty iron swords. The Swiss archaeologist Ferdinand Keller published his findings in 1868 in his influential first report on the Swiss pile dwellings ( Pfahlbaubericht ). In 1863 he interpreted the remains as a Celtic village built on piles. Eduard Desor , a geologist from Neuchâtel , started excavations on the lakeshore soon afterwards. He interpreted
17653-434: The waters of the lake by about 2 m (6 ft 7 in). On the northernmost tip of the lake, between the river and a point south of the village of Epagnier ( 47°00′16″N 7°00′58″E / 47.0045°N 7.016°E / 47.0045; 7.016 ), Hansli Kopp, looking for antiquities for Colonel Frédéric Schwab, discovered several rows of wooden piles that still reached up about 50 cm (20 in) into
17792-733: The west and the Dnieper cataracts in the east, and up to the Pripyat , Vistula , and Oder rivers in the north and northwest. In 53 BC, Julius Caesar stated that the Dacian territory was on the eastern border of the Hercynian forest . According to Strabo's Geographica , written around AD 20, the Getes (Geto-Dacians) bordered the Suevi who lived in the Hercynian Forest , which
17931-458: The western edge of the old Hallstatt region. Though there is no agreement on the precise region in which La Tène culture first developed, there is a broad consensus that the centre of the culture lay on the northwest edges of Hallstatt culture , north of the Alps , within the region between in the West the valleys of the Marne and Moselle , and the part of the Rhineland nearby. In the east
18070-554: The western end of the old Hallstatt core area in modern Bavaria , the Czech Republic , Austria and Switzerland formed a somewhat separate "eastern style Province" in the early La Tène, joining with the western area in Alsace . In 1994 a prototypical ensemble of elite grave sites of the early 5th century BCE was excavated at Glauberg in Hesse , northeast of Frankfurt-am-Main , in a region that had formerly been considered peripheral to
18209-520: The wooden remains of two bridges (designated "Pont Desor" and "Pont Vouga") originally over 100 m (330 ft) long, that crossed the little Thielle River (today a nature reserve) and the remains of five houses on the shore. After Vouga had finished, F. Borel, curator of the Marin museum, began to excavate as well. In 1885 the canton asked the Société d'Histoire of Neuchâtel to continue the excavations,
18348-577: Was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any definite cultural break, under considerable Mediterranean influence from the Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul , the Etruscans , and the Golasecca culture , but whose artistic style nevertheless did not depend on those Mediterranean influences. La Tène culture's territorial extent corresponded to what
18487-408: Was a mauch later remark by Tacitus, who said they spoke a language like the Germanic peoples. However others hold that they were Scythian/Germanic, or mixed Germanic/Sarmatian. A fringe theory is that they were Proto-Slavic . Shchukin argues that the ethnicity of the Bastarnae was unique and rather than trying to label them as Celtic, Germanic or Sarmatian, it should be accepted that the "Basternae were
18626-425: Was assassinated before it could start. However, the campaign was made redundant by Burebista's overthrow and death in the same year, after which his Getae empire fragmented into four, later five, independent petty kingdoms. These were militarily far weaker, as Strabo assessed their combined military potential at just 40,000 armed men, and were often involved in internecine warfare. The Geto-Dacians did not again become
18765-676: Was complete by the beginning of the Bronze Age. The people of that time are best described as proto-Thracians, which later developed in the Iron Age into Danubian-Carpathian Geto-Dacians as well as Thracians of the eastern Balkan Peninsula. Between 15th–12th century BC, the Dacian-Getae culture was influenced by the Bronze Age Tumulus-Urnfield warriors who were on their way through the Balkans to Anatolia. In
18904-556: Was determined to belong to various subclades of haplogroup H , HV , U , K , J , V and W . The examined individuals of the Hallstatt culture and La Tène culture were genetically highly homogeneous and displayed continuity with the earlier Bell Beaker culture. They carried about 50% steppe-related ancestry. A genetic study published in iScience in April 2022 examined 49 genomes from 27 sites in Bronze Age and Iron Age France. The study found evidence of strong genetic continuity between
19043-492: Was originally divided into "early", "middle" and "late" stages based on the typology of the metal finds ( Otto Tischler 1885), with the Roman occupation greatly disrupting the culture, although many elements remain in Gallo-Roman and Romano-British culture. A broad cultural unity was not paralleled by overarching social-political unifying structures, and the extent to which the material culture can be linguistically linked
19182-415: Was the permanent annexation of Moesia by Rome. About a decade later, in 10 BC, the Bastarnae again clashed with Rome during Augustus' conquest of Pannonia (the bellum Pannonicum 14–9 BC). Inscription AE (1905) 14 records a campaign on the Hungarian Plain by the Augustan-era general Marcus Vinucius : Marcus Vinucius...[patronymic], Consul [in 19 BC]...[various official titles], governor of Illyricum,
19321-462: Was to increase strategic depth between the border and Italy and also to provide a major fluvial supply route between the Roman armies in the region. On the lower Danube, which was given priority over the upper Danube, this required the annexation of Moesia. The Romans' target was thus the tribes which inhabited Moesia, namely (from west to east) the Triballi , Moesi and those Getae who dwelt south of
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